Catamounts Sweep Titles at Thundering Herd Invitational
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Western Carolina University men's and women's track & field teams took home the titles at the Thundering Herd Invitational hosted by Marshall University Friday and Saturday. The women picked up two event victories and six second place finishes as the topped the competition by 52.5 points. The men won six events and had seven second place finishes en route to a 98 point victory.
The women finished ahead of 11 schools including Eastern Kentucky, West Virginia, Charlotte, Marshall, Austin Peay, Dayton, Duquesne, Ohio University, Winthrop, Morehead State and Radford. The men topped five schools including Charlotte, Eastern Kentucky, Northern Kentucky, Winthrop and Morehead State.
Freshman Henry Kiedy led the way for the Catamounts as he won both the men's 200m and 400m. He led a group of seven Catamounts who finished in the top-10 in the 200m. His time of 22.08 was a season best for the team. Classmate Brenden Caldwell finished third with a time of 22.22 and just one hundredth of a second behind was freshman Dakota Lamont who placed fourth. Sophomore Max Burke rounded out the top-five at 22.31. Senior Marquis Bailey (22.52), freshman Chris Hancock (22.56) and junior Dante Ortado (22.63) finished seventh, ninth and tenth, respectively.
Kiedy also led seven Catamounts to top-10 finished in the 400m. Kiedy posted a season-best time of 48.10 in the victory. Lamont finished third at 49.19. Senior Aaron Tribble finished fifth at 49.40 followed by senior Demari Boswell in sixth at 49.46. Ortado (49.77), freshman Kaleb McEntyre (49.78) and freshman Robbie Tompa (50.08) rounded out the top-10 in eighth, ninth and tenth, respectively.
The women's lone individual winner was sophomore Chenell Bryan who topped the field in the women's long jump with a leap of 5.84m. Senior Michaela Birek finished third in the event with a distance of 5.69m.
Junior Jared Johnson took home the individual title in the men's weight throw with a toss of 18.39m which marked a season-best. Sophomore Evan Albertson earned points for the team as he finished in sixth with a distance of 14.58m. Freshman Mateius Brown (14.02m) and sophomore Scott Peretin (13.78m) placed eighth and ninth, respectively.
Sophomore Dustin Tripplett led a quartet of Catamounts in the men's pole vault. Tripplett took home the title with a vault of 4.65m. Redshirt freshman Thor Smith finished second at 4.50m and freshman Corey Ginley came in third with a height of 4.35m. Junior Christian Carswell was the final Catamount in the top-10 as he finished sixth at 4.20m.
WCU's final individual winner was senior Marquis Bailey who took home the title in the 60m hurdles after qualifying in the top position. He posted a season-best time of 8.30 in the preliminary rounds and followed that up with a victory time of 8.31 in the finals.
Junior Tayla Carter picked up a pair of second place finishes for the women. She placed second in the 60m and 200m as she posted season-bests in both events. Carter finished second in the 60m with a time of 7.49 while posting a time of 24.35 in the 200m finals.
Sophomore Jermaine Lewis led a group of four Catamounts who all finished in the top-five of the 60m. Lewis placed second with a time of 6.94 while Caldwell came in third at 6.96. Burke and Bailey rounded out the top-five in fourth and fifth, respectively. Burke posted a time of 6.99 while Bailey crossed the line in 7.03.
Senior Genevieve Emrick, junior Corina Archie-McMillan and junior Holly Gaines all picked up points in the 400m. Emrick finished second with a season-best time of 55.04. Archie-McMillan crossed the line in 57.03 good for fourth while Gaines finished seventh with a time of 57.73.
Carswell, freshman Jaquell Bryant and Tribble finished second, third and fourth, respectively, in the men's high jump. Carswell tied the season-best mark of 1.98m while Bryant and Tribble each cleared 1.93m. Bryant made the clearance in fewer attempts which gave him the third-place finish.
Senior Xaviera Bass came in second in the women's 60m hurdles final after qualifying second. She shaved two tenths of a second off her time in the finals to post as season-best mark of 8.63. Sophomore Kayla Williams came in fifth with a time of 8.78 while Birek came in eighth at 9.08.
Junior David Johnson, freshman Kevin Hires and Carswell finished second, third and fourth in the men's triple jump. Johnson posted a distance of 14.71m. Hires leapt 14.15m and Carswell cleared 13.51m.
Bass also came in second in the women's high jump with a leap of 1.65m. Sophomore Anisia Starege also cleared 1.65m but did it in more attempts than Bass.
J. Johnson picked up a second-place finish in the men's shot put with a season-best toss of 15.34m. Peretin (14.15m), Brown (14.14m) and Albertson (14.11m) followed in fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively.
Senior Alisha Bradshaw finished second in the women's shot put with a distance of 13.54m while sophomore Hailey Cook finished third at 13.53m.
The men's final second-place finisher was junior Jamie Bigby who took the honors in the men's 800m. He posted a season-best time of 1:55.70.
The women took home the crown in the 4x400m relay with a season-best time of 3:47.11. Archie-McMillan, Emrick, Birek and Carter all teamed up to win the event. Senior Lena Elliott, Gaines, sophomore Latasha Pride and junior Michaela Williams teamed up to finish seventh in the event with a time of 3:58.12.
The men dominated the 4x400m relay, taking home the top three spots. Lamont, Tribble, Boswell and Kiedy posted the top time with 3:17.91. McEntyre, Tompa, Bailey and Ortado took second at 3:27.07 and Burke, Lewis, Bigby and freshman Chris Hancock posted the third-place time of 3:27.86.
Elliott came in third in the women's 800m with a season-best time of 2:16.07 while senior Devyn Ressler finished third in the women's pole vault. Ressler cleared 3.75m. Junior Korie Bennett finished seventh in the pole vault to earn two points for the Catamounts. She posted a height of 3.60m.
Caldwell led four Catamounts to top-10 finishes in the men's long jump. Caldwell finished fourth with a distance of 6.64m. Hires came in fifth at 6.45m and freshman Jordan Santana came in sixth with a leap of 6.40m. The final Catamount was D. Johnson who finished eighth with a distance of 6.28m.
Bradshaw finished fourth in the women's weight throw with a toss of 16.48m while junior Aleshia Reese and freshman Laney Browder rounded out WCU women's top-10 finishers in the women's 3000m. Reese finished sixth with a time of 10:24.57 and Browder came in 10th at 10:51.50.
Sophomore JC Cornett and redshirt sophomore Clay Howarth came in fourth and seventh, respectively in the men's 3000m. Cornett posted a season-best time of 8:57.24 while Howarth came across in 9:01.94. Howarth went on to finish 10th in the men's 5000m with a season-best time of 15:38.31.
Cornett also finished fourth in the men's one mile run with a season-best time of 4:16.67. Junior Michael Cornwell came in eighth in the event with a time of 4:22.15.
The Catamounts will return to action next weekend at the ETSU Open.
Haughey & Reeder Set Furman Records In 3,000m In Final Day Of Hilton Garden Invitational
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Senior Sinead Haughey and redshirt freshman Troy Reeder set school records in the Camel City 3,000m events to lead the Furman indoor track and field teams Saturday at the Hilton Garden Invitational at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Haughey, who posted a time of 9:33.10 for 11th place, broke the old record of 9:33.36 set last season by current sophomore Grace Tinkey. Reeder placed sixth with a time of 8:04.87, shattering the former record of 8:18.06 set last season by current senior Tripp Hurt.
Senior William Ivey turned in a mile time of 4:12.82 for second place, while freshman Jacquelyn Crow finished third with a time of 4:58.15 in the women’s mile event. Sophomore Laura Miller was ninth in the mile, notching a time of 5:06.6.1.
Following an off weekend, Furman will compete at the High Point Team Challenge in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Feb. 12.
ETSU's Williams, Edgecombe Strong in Event Finals
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The ETSU track & field program wrapped up competition on Saturday at the Hilton Garden Innvitational with Keturah Williams and Dede Edgecombe both turning in solid performances in their respective event finals inside JDL Fast Track Indoor Track & Field Facility.
After racing to a 7.74 time in the women’s 60-meter dash preliminary races, junior sprinter Williams continued the momentum into the finals on Saturday. The Georgia native raced to an improved fourth-place finish in the event finals with a time of 7.71. Speed Elite runner LaKaya Brookins took first place with a time of 7.52.
Also looking to build off of a strong showing in preliminary action, senior hurdler Edgecombe aimed for the top spot in the finals of the 60-meter hurdle in a very competitive field of participants. The only American collegiate competitor in a field of eight, the native South Carolinian improved from yesterday’s time of 8.49 with an 8.43 time to finish sixth.
The ETSU track & field program will host its second meet of the season next week, the 2015 Buccaneer Invitational, Feb. 6 – 7, inside the ETSU/MSHA Athletics Center on David E. Walker Track at Gentry Field.
UNCG Track Competes In Hilton Garden Invitational
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The UNCG men’s and women’s track teams made the quick trip down 1-40 to the JDL Fast Track to compete in the Hilton Garden Invitational. The meet kicked off Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. and wrapped up on Saturday.
On Friday, freshman Luke Sumerford finished in 14th place overall in the 5,000-meter race, with a final time of 15:38.01. Patrick O’Grady finished the race in 15:58.48.
The men’s distance relay team of Bryan Whyms, Christopher Murphy, David Guthrie, and Brandon King finished in sixth place overall with a final time of 10:21.15.
On Saturday, Katherine Link finished 10th overall in the one-mile run with a time of 5:07.85. Teammate Eira Jensen wrapped up at 24th overall with a final time of 5:14.33.
The Spartans will compete again on February 13th and 14th in both the Iowa State Classic and the Liberty Quad.